Unit 18

Other Types of Meals: Full Breakfast

A full breakfast is a traditional cooked meal, typically and
originally eaten at breakfast, though now often served at other times
during the day (this is particularly true of the Ulster Fry, described
below).
It is a popular breakfast meal in many countries, mainly in the
Anglo sphere. Bacon and eggs are the quintessential ingredients. The
full breakfast comprises at its heart bacon and eggs, and is popular
throughout the British Isles and other parts of the English-speaking
world. Depending on where it is served, it is called bacon and eggs, a
fry, a fry up, the Great British breakfast, a full English breakfast, a full
Irish breakfast, a full Scottish breakfast, a full Welsh breakfast or an
Ulster fry. The Scottish variant of this dish is also referred to as a
Glasgow salad.
The complement of the breakfast varies depending on the
location and which of these descriptions is used. Full cooked
breakfasts are no longer an everyday occurrence in many British or
Irish households, although they occupy an important place in the
concept of the morning meal and are the predominant business of
many greasy spoon cafs, as well as generally being offered to
tourists as traditional fare in hotels, guest houses and bed-andbreakfasts. Although it has declined as a breakfast, it has grown in
popularity as an all day breakfast, especially on weekends.
A cooked breakfast of this sort is a relatively modern
invention, although this is disputed; it developed in the houses of
successful farmers or landowners during the late 19th century. For the
more well-to-do, an array of breakfast dishes would be laid out buffet
style in much the same way as hotels do today. Up until this period,
fresh meat was generally considered a luxury for all but the most
affluent.
The emergence of town grocers in the 1880s allowed people
to exchange surplus eggs, etc., for other food items to diversify their
diets. Only with the relative increase in the wealth of the general
populace in the 20th century was the consumption of the full breakfast
meal commonplace amongst the working classes. (After Wikipedia,
the Free Encyclopedia)

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 Vocabulary
array = gam
bacon and eggs = unc cu ou
be particularly true for (v.) = a fi adevrat mai ales pentru
bed-and-breakfast = stabiliment care ofer cazare i mic dejun
depending on = n funcie de
develop (v.) = a aprea
dispute (v.)= a discuta (n contradictoriu)
emergence = apariie
everyday occurrence = eveniment zilnic
for but = pentru cu excepia
fresh meat = carne proaspt
full breakfast = masa tipic servit la micul dejun
greasy spoon = local de alimentaie public pentru muncitori
guest house = pensiune
household = gospodrie
landowner = proprietar de cas / pmnt
the late 19th century = sfritul secolului al XIX-lea
town grocer = bcan de la ora
traditional fare = mncarea tradiional
up until = pn la
wealth = avere, bunstare
well-to-do = avut(), bogat(), nstrit()

Exercises
1. True or false?
Statement

True

A full breakfast is a relatively modern invention.

A full breakfast is a traditional baked meal, typically
and originally eaten at breakfast.
Bacon and eggs are the quintessential ingredients.
Fresh meat is generally considered a luxury for all
but the most affluent.
Full cooked breakfasts are no longer an everyday
occurrence in many British or Irish households.

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False

2. Group the following words related to types of food, as in the model.

cereal condiment cooked food crisp crispy edible fresh
fruit inedible main dish meat raw raw food salad
side dish stale staple tender tough vegetable
Words referring to
food

major types of food

something that can

be eaten or not

cereal
3. Match the following.
1. egg
2. egg cream

3. egg roll
4. egg timer
5. egg white
6. eggbeater
7. eggcup
8. eggnog
9. eggs Benedict

a. a cup for holding a usually soft-boiled egg

b. a dish consisting of toasted halves of English
muffin topped with broiled ham, poached
eggs, and hollandaise sauce
c. a drink consisting of milk or cream, sugar,
and eggs beaten together and often mixed
with an alcoholic liquor such as rum or
brandy
d. a drink made of milk, syrup, and soda water
e. a hand-held kitchen utensil with rotating
blades for beating, whipping, or mixing
f. a small hourglass running three to five
minutes, used for timing the boiling of eggs
g. a usually deep-fried cylindrical casing of thin
egg dough, filled with minced vegetables and
often bits of seafood or meat
h. the albumen of an egg, used especially in
cooking
i. the oval, thin-shelled reproductive body of a
bird, especially that of a hen, used as food

4. Which of the following has nothing to do with an egg?

egg-and-dart egger eggbeater egg case egg cell egg
cream eggcup egger eggfruit egghead eggnog eggplant
egg roll egg sac eggshell egg timer egg tooth egg white

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5. Fill in with the proper conjunctions from below.

and but or that whether while
weekday breakfasts in Britain and Ireland often consist of a brief
meal of cereal and/or toast, the fry-up is commonly eaten in a
leisurely fashion on Saturday or Sunday mornings. Many cafs and
supermarkets now serve the fry-up as an all-day breakfast which is
more often eaten as a hearty lunch. Being reasonably oily and fatty, it
is regarded by most diners as an occasional treat, such is the
passion for a good fry-up that even the health-conscious defend an
occasional indulgence with the everything in moderation
rationalisation. the fry-up is accompanied by orange juice and an
abundant supply of tea or coffee, or only bacon, eggs, and toast, it is
regarded as a ritual comfort and a wholly satisfying start to a day. The
full breakfast may therefore be listed as the all day breakfast. Such
cafs are typically frequented by local construction workers
passing lorry drivers. As a consequence, the tea is typically served
in such establishments is known as builders tea. In hotels and bedand-breakfasts, a full breakfast might include additional courses such
as cereal, porridge, kippers, toast and jam or marmalade, kedgeree,
or devilled kidneys. Fruit juice and dry cereal were added to the
breakfast after 1950. The term full breakfast is used to differentiate
between the larger multiple course breakfast, the simpler
continental breakfast of tea, coffee and fruit juices, with croissants or
pastries.
6. Put the following into Romanian.
The typical greasy spoon serves mainly fried or grilled food, such as
fried eggs, bacon, black pudding, bubble and squeak, burgers,
sausages, mushrooms and chips. These are often accompanied by
baked beans, cooked tomatoes, and fried bread. Hot and cold
sandwiches are also often available, the bacon or sausage butty
being particularly popular. The main drink in British greasy spoons is
usually tea; often the only coffee available will be instant, though this
has slowly changed with the proliferation of coffee drinking in the
culture. British greasy spoons will sometimes also offer bread and
butter pudding, apple crumble and rhubarb crumble.

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7. Turn the following text from Direct into Indirect speech, making all
necessary changes. You might want to use reporting verbs like the
ones in the table.
announce answer explain question report reply say
state suggest tell
We are talking now to Mr. John OConnell, chef at the Cock and tail
restaurant in London. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon to you
and your listeners. Todays topic is breakfast still the most
important meal of the day? I think its a shame that most breakfasts
in this day and age are eaten on the run. Yes, doesnt it seem that
even when we take the time to make a more complicated breakfast,
our family is busy to start the day and just dont want to sit around the
table talking. I think its natural, with this rat-race world we are living
in. But then, having meals on the run, we miss both family bonding
and some great meals! What is your solution for that? Its very
simple, actually. Serve breakfast foods for dinner and you get the best
of both worlds; talking and relaxing at the end of the day, and
delicious, comforting, very simple foods.
8. Change the italicised words with their corresponding modal verbs.
Everyone has an opinion on how one would be advised to make a
proper cup of tea. Everybody thinks they are able to do it, but it is
much harder than it would be possible for one to think. The first
ingredient has to be leaf tea. Not tea bags and certainly not powder.
Only black tea is real tea in Britain. You are not allowed to use any
other kind if you want to make the perfect cup. Tea comes from the
plant Camellia Sinensis. First you have to fill a kettle with fresh water
and bring to the boil. Then, it is possible for you to warm the teapot
with a little of the boiled water, swirl it around the pot and discard. You
have to place 1 tsp of fresh, leaf tea per person plus one for the pot.
Top up the teapot with the boiling water (you are not allowed to let the
water to go off-the-boil or it will not be hot enough to brew the tea).
You are allowed to leave to infuse for 3-4 minutes, no longer or it will
develop a stewed flavour. Finally, you have to pour the tea through a
tea-strainer directly into clean teacups. You are advised to use china
teacups.

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9. Turn the following text into Direct Speech.

A BBC News reporter announced that a man had had a tattoo of a full
breakfast created on his head. Tattoo artist Blane Dickinson, 32, from
Penmaenmawr, Conwy, declared that it had taken him six hours to
complete the bacon, eggs, sausages, beans and even cutlery.
Volunteer Dayne Gilbey, 19, from Coventry, said he wanted to take
part in something different. Mr. Dickinson said he next wanted to find
someone willing to have their face tattooed on the back of their head.
Mr Gilbey, who already has four tattoos, stated that his friends and
family kept asking him why he was doing that. He added that for him
it was just something different which had never been done before. He
also declared that his mother was really unhappy about it and
threatened to throw him out but he didnt think she would go through
with it. He volunteered for the tattooing, which took place at The
Albion pub in Conwy. Mr. Dickinson told that he first had had this idea
four years before so he was glad to have finally found someone
brave, or perhaps unhinged, enough to do it. He added that he was
not charging Dayne but that tattoo would normally cost around 350
and must definitely be the most expensive breakfast he had ever had.
10. What other food records (e.g. the largest omelette, the largest
pizza pie, etc.) do you know?

Lets Laugh!
A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.
Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen. Careful, he said,
CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my! Youre cooking too many
at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more
butter. Oh my! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? Theyre
going to STICK! Careful. CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You
NEVER listen to me when youre cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry
up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Dont forget to salt
them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt.
USE THE SALT! THE SALT! The wife stared at him. What in the
world is wrong with you? You think I dont know how to fry a couple of
eggs? The husband calmly replied, I just wanted to show you what it
feels like when Im driving.

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